MANDATORY SENTENCES A PROBLEM FOR DELAWARE

Recently, many constituents have asked me when I am going to "do something"
about mandatory sentencing. I must admit, I was quite surprised. However, I
have been working on this issue for awhile now because I believe that
minimum mandatory sentencing has tied the hands of Delaware judges, ruined
the lives of many Delawareans who made a relatively minor mistake and cost
the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. I believe it is time for a
change. That is why Senator Myrna Bair and I are the lead sponsors for
Senate Bill 331.

Senate Bill 331 proposes to allow all minimum mandatory sentences in the
Delaware Code to sunset two years after the bill's passage. The bill would
also create a special Commission to review these sentences and recommend to
the legislature which sentences to re-enact.

Of course, the intent of this legislation is not to do away with minimum
mandatory sentences for serious crimes, like murder, rape or robbery, or to
"get soft on crime", but rather Senate Bill 331 provides the courts with
more flexibility in sentencing. Under the minimum mandatory sentencing
guidelines, some first time offenders found in possession of relatively
small amounts of a drug are sent to prison - when parole and drug
rehabilitation would have been a more effective and less costly path.

According to a recent report, issued by the Department of Corrections,
Delaware's prison population has increased by 58% in the past ten years.
Minimum mandatory sentencing has cost the taxpayers of Delaware an
exorbitant amount of money. Over the past four years, Delaware has spent
$180 million to add 2,500 prison beds. That $180 million, could have sent
125,000 students to Delaware Technical & Community College for one year!
What we spend to incarnate just one individual in Delaware could pay the
tuition for 16 people to attend Delaware Technical & Community College.

I feel very strongly that now is the time for the General Assembly, to take
a step forward, and make changes to the minimum mandatory sentences of the
past decade.